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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29605296">Together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentMagpie/pseuds/MalevolentMagpie'>MalevolentMagpie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Voltron Monsters &amp; Mana Collaboration [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Tabletop Gaming, Anxiety, Beastmaster Keith, Fantasy, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), Leadership, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Monsters &amp; Mana (Voltron), POV Shiro (Voltron), Ranger Keith, Reality Bending, Role-Playing Game, the Sheith is more gently implied</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:35:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29605296</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentMagpie/pseuds/MalevolentMagpie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The paladins play another campaign of Monsters &amp; Mana. Pushed to exhaustion by the stresses of leading the universe’s sole remaining hope, Shiro finds that the line between game and reality begins to blur.</p><p>Voltron Monsters &amp; Mana Collaboration, Fic 1: POV Shiro.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Voltron Monsters &amp; Mana Collaboration [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you to <a href="/users/Maryliz2121/">Maryliz2121</a> for putting together this project, bringing all of us together, and making this happen! And thanks to the other writers in this series for coming together to do this - it's been a pleasure planning this with you all, and I can't wait to read your works!!</p><p>The word I had to incorporate was "cigarette."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Over hill and over dale, the band of heroes wandered, intent on reaching the mystical town of Prothos, on the highest peak of the snowy Kyrellene mountains. Already they had encountered, and bested, numerous foes and obstacles (the Dread Wizard Kanir, the deadly swamps of the Southern Salt Dunes…) yet their last had extracted a terrible price. In their epic battle against the formidable dragon lord that guarded the key to their moon map, their companion and resident beastmaster, Yorak, had been critically injured.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Damn it Coran. I already told Lance, I’m not going to go by Yorak,” Keith groused, crossing his arms and settling back into the low-set circular couch in the paladin lounge. He propped one foot up on the table in the center, heel cutting through the Monsters and Mana hologram map that depicted their characters’ position in the Kyrellene mountain range.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh come on Yorak,” Lance grinned, leaning across Allura’s lap. “Don’t you like the name your own mom gave you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why can’t I just be ‘Keith’? Shiro got to keep </span>
  </em>
  <span>his </span>
  <em>
    <span>name!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shiro also always insists on being a paladin - he’s a lost cause,” explained Pidge in a long-suffering tone. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shiro frowned. He still didn’t see what was wrong with that. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Coran cleared his throat. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>On and on the heroes traveled, their wounded compatriot in tow, until finally, they reached Prothos, the only place in the whole of Anduria that grew the herb that Beastmaster Keith so desperately needed in order to fully recover. The remote mountain village was girdled by thick stone walls, its entrance flanked by two guards who immediately upon spotting the filthy, blood-soaked wanderers, pointed their spears at the closest band member.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I roll to leap in front of Shiro and shield him,” Keith stated immediately. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro saw Pidge rolling her own. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course you do,” she muttered. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can’t roll to protect Shiro; you’re injured!” Lance exclaimed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shiro looked around the table and raised his hands to calm down his team.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peace, good people. We mean you no harm,” the paladin declared, hands outstretched. “We are humble adventurers who come to your village seeking treatment for our wounded friend. We have coin with which to compensate you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guards lowered their spears, but their wary expressions did not change. “We have no need of coin in these distant lands, stranger, but we willingly dispense with our precious healing herb to those who have need of it-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A happy murmur rippled through the team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-provided you prove yourselves worthy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So saying, the guards made way for the travelers to enter the village. It was a small and simple village, gleaming white with fresh-fallen snow, with buildings made of sturdy logs and villagers that bustled out in their modest furs to gaze with curiosity upon the newest pilgrims. The head of the village, an elven man with long, silvery hair that shone in the light, emerged from the most elaborate building in town. Immediately upon seeing the team’s archer, he turned to directly address her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well met, twilight sister. It is a balm to gaze upon another elven face after such a long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked taken aback for a moment but quickly regained her composure, sweeping back her own pale locks. “Greetings. My name is Valayun, and these are my companions, Pike the ninja assassin, Block the sorcerer, Shiro the paladin, Yor- Keith the beastmaster ranger, and Meklevar, the axe fighter-”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m Mekl-A-var,” corrected Pidge.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“-I mean, Meklavar,” said Valayun as she finished pointing to the tawny catboy, the two humans, the wounded tiefling, and the stocky dwarf in turn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have been informed that you seek healing for your tiefling ally,” said the prince, sneering as he glanced towards Keith. “And you shall have it. But only if your band of fighters can survive the Prothian Trials. Even for a fellow elf, I am afraid no exception can be made. This is our village’s most sacred rule. Such is our obligation as keepers of the holy herb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The heroes exchanged glances, but they had no choice but to comply. So it was that they found themselves on the morrow at the foot of a steep, treacherous, snowy mountain trail - or so the villagers called it. Between the heavy snow and the walloping wind, it was difficult to make out anything remotely resembling a trail in the blustery conditions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro frowned. “It will be alright, guys. We just have to stick close to each other and keep our eye on the summit. See that light on the peak? Prince Tharthius said that the herb is grown, stored, and prepared there. We’ll be able to treat Keith and take shelter in that cabin. That’s what we have to reach before nightfall. As long as we stay oriented, we can’t go wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others nodded nervously, and together they began the slow, wintry tread through the deep snow. The biting cold of the strong winds stole their breath, and every step leeched more of their warmth until they could hardly feel their feet despite their protective winter gear. To his team’s credit, they hiked with tenacity, never once complaining, each taking shifts to help Shiro carry Keith’s weakened form. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shiro, you should just leave me,” Keith rasped in his ear as he clung to Shiro’s back. “I’m not worth all this. At this rate, the others are going to freeze to death and I’m still not gonna make it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No man left behind,” panted Shiro. “There’s no way I’m leaving you, Keith. Never. Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to the team. We’re all going to get through this - together.” Despite the icy chill, he attempted what he hoped was a convincing smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swore he could almost feel Keith’s heavy swallow against his back, hear the way his breath hitched and yet Keith didn’t say anythi-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Snack break!” Coran called out, stretching his arms high above his head and arching his back. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shiro blinked a few times, resisting the urge to shake his head to re-orient himself. He was sitting in the paladin lounge with a tabletop game in front of him, not on an icy mountain top fighting for the survival of his team. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Keith’s concerned - and entirely uninjured - face before him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You okay, Shiro?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah,” Shiro replied, still feeling dazed. “Just… it’s a really immersive game.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Keith frowned as if he was about to suggest that they stop, but was interrupted by Block - no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hunk</span>
  <em>
    <span> - offering to share the snacks he’d brought back from the kitchen. Coran and the others also soon returned from the kitchen and restrooms, and they all settled down to resume playing.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The higher the group climbed, the harder the wind buffeted them and the colder the air grew. They tried to huddle close together for protection against the elements, but that was only mildly helpful. Shiro egged them on with rallying words, desperately keeping one eye always on the flickering golden light in the distance. This was a feat unto itself, for the winds blew the loose snow every which way around them and made it difficult to see much of anything. It was tempting to keep one’s eyes closed to protect against the stinging flurry. That was why none of them saw it until it was too late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All it took was one false step from one of their team, and the entire group found themselves falling into a deep pitfall trap that was too deep to climb out of. They all groaned, both from pain and frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you all alright? Where’s Keith? Everyone sound off!” Shiro called out, casting about for the disgruntled form of his best friend beside him, looking surly but still very much alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other team members all muttered variations of their status. None newly injured, but all very much screwed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hunk, can you cast levitation to get us out of here?” said Shiro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying, but it’s like something is blocking my magic. I can’t even cast a simple firespell!” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Also, Shiro, it’s ‘Block,’ remembe-?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Allura? Any chance you can summon something we could use to climb out? One of those flying mounts would be awful handy right about now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Allura nocked a manifestation arrow and aimed her bow towards the sky, but instead of opening one of her magical portals, it merely sailed through the air and disappeared. She shook her head sadly. “This trap must have reinforcements against any magical elements.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro looked down at his hands, concentrating on his options. Without their magical abilities and down one beastmaster, the team didn’t have a great deal of additional resources at their disposal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lance, any chance you can climb out of here? Your ninja jutsu doesn’t make use of the traditional magic mechanisms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shiro my boy, within the game it’s ‘Pike,’ do try t…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lance was surveying the walls of their pit carefully, eyeballing the height. “I could probably scrounge up enough energy to get one of us out, but I don’t know if I’d be the most useful. We need to get help from the outside, which means we need to send whoever’s gonna have the best chance of surviving that blizzard up there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The entire team turned to Shiro. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With your healing abilities and your endurance stats, it’s gotta be you, man,” said Hunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro nodded, then stood up and bundled Keith tighter where he lay curled up on the ground. “I’ll be back soon, just hang in there, okay Keith? You’re going to be alright.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith answered him with a strange look, somewhat incredulous, almost concerned, but somber. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning to the rest of the team, Shiro said, “Keep yourselves moving. The good thing about this pit is it’ll provide some protection from the windchill, but it’s not going to do much about the ambient temperature, so stick close together and try to stay constantly active to keep your blood flowing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re not back,” Allura began, but he cut her off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth, he set his sights on the ground above. “I’ll be back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took as much of a running leap as he could, kicked off of the wall, then felt Lance’s cat jutsu spark warm beneath him and take him the rest of the way up and back onto the surface of the mountainside. He looked once more down at his team, huddled together for warmth at the bottom of the pit. They looked so vulnerable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back,” he repeated, and set back out towards the summit and the golden, flickering light of the distant cabin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trudged for hours, alone, routinely using small reserves of mana to stave off hypothermia and frostbite, fighting off crag scramblers that bit and scratched and attempted to push him off the mountainside. He marched and crawled and dragged himself forward through the bitter cold. By the time the cabin was in full sight, his body was exhausted, pushed to its limits. He took one last step and sank to his knees in the freezing, endless white of this godforsaken summit. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do it. He had given all he had and there simply was nothing left within him. His mana was depleted; his health hanging on by a thread. He was beaten and bloody and utterly spent. He would die upon this mountaintop, along with the whole of his team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His team, who were depending on him. Their trust and their lives were in his hands, and Shiro- he had failed them. They were so young, most of them practically children. It was all up to him. But he wasn’t strong enough. He wasn’t strong enough… They were relying on him and he had failed. The world blurred in his sight, whether due to the manic winds, snow blindness, or his failing body-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A warm hand on his shoulder.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shiro?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shiro blinked, feeling wetness on his lashes, down his cheek. It was tears that had blurred his sight. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>---</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked again to see Coran and the rest of the paladins staring, concerned, pained. He was in the paladin lounge. They were playing Monsters and Mana.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you guys give us a minute?” came Keith’s low voice over his shoulder, and the others immediately scrambled to their feet and out the door. Keith waited until they had all left before pulling gently on Shiro’s arm to turn them both towards each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro tried to say something, but no words came to mind. He wasn’t even sure what had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Keith said softly. His husky tenor sounded so much louder in Shiro’s head, startling Shiro from his stupor. “We lost you there for a second. What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Should Shiro apologize? Play it off as tiredness or space jetlag? In the end, he settled on being truthful. He had never once in his life lied to Keith, not even when Keith was young and the truth was an ugly thing from which Shiro would have killed to protect him. “I don’t know,” Shiro said, and stared at his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith slipped his gloved hands over Shiro’s palms. His fingers were rough and calloused from wielding his bayard in combat almost daily. He had grown up so much from the little boy that had stolen Shiro’s car and followed him blindly into a new world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I tell you what I think happened?” Keith said gently. When Shiro nodded, he continued. “I think sometimes you get scared. You try to hide it from the others, but I can tell. I get scared too, you know? The fate of the universe is kind of a lot to think about.” Keith squeezed his hands once, tightly. “But you don’t have to hide it from me, okay? No one expects you to be this perfect, inhuman leader that never messes up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t expect that. You’re just Shiro, and that’s all you need to be. You’re trying your best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro swallowed around the lump in his throat, striving to make his voice as even as possible. “Yeah but if I mess up, people could die, Keith. You could-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith tugged him suddenly into a fierce embrace. “I’m not going anywhere. Nothing’s gonna happen,” he whispered just as fiercely into Shiro’s neck, giving him a little shake with each absolute declaration, as if he would force the truth to sink into Shiro’s bones. “We’re gonna get through this, together. You and me. Let’s do this </span>
  <em>
    <span>together. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You’re not alone, Shiro.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith’s hug was secure. His arms were a steel brace around Shiro. He was… strong. Keith was strong, too. Just as Pidge, Lance, Allura, and Hunk were. Maybe Shiro didn’t have to be strong enough. Maybe together they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro released the breath he was holding and fully relaxed into Keith’s embrace. The latter tightened his hold, a promise to never let go. “Together,” Shiro breathed into Keith’s hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure how long he and Keith stayed like that. In what felt like no time at all, the others re-entered the room, only to freeze when they saw the two entangled paladins. Shiro made to pull back, but Keith held on, paying no mind to the sound of the other paladins and Coran walking towards them. Eventually, Keith let go just enough to lean his forehead against Shiro’s, audience be damned. He sniffed wetly and locked slightly reddened eyes with Shiro, then pulled away and sat back in his seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seated now around the table again, the others looked to Shiro, waiting. Shiro picked up his die. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With the last reserves of strength, thinking of my injured teammate and the friends that are counting on me, I pick myself up from the snow and make one last effort to reach the cabin at the summit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The paladin could see his teammates’ smiles in his head as he finally, finally, stumbled through the front door of the lighted cabin. It was a large cabin, large enough to house a growing operation for a teal blue plant that fizzled as it released glowing spores that evaporated into the air. The light they had been following since the start of the mountain trail was not from the cabin itself, but rather from a large pyre that was kept constantly ablaze, a lighthouse of sorts meant to guide questing travelers. It was by this pyre that Shiro found the group of healers and growers that worked with the healing herb upon the mountaintop. After receiving immediate aid, he led them down to his team, still huddled together at the bottom of the pitfall trap, and all together they were able to extract Shiro’s team and bring them to the cabin for some much-deserved rest and recuperation.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The weary wanderers gathered around to watch as the healers cut up the dried Prothian herb, packed it into a thin sheet of paper, rolled it up and-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait a minute, a cigarette?” Keith gave Coran a flat stare. “What kind of healing herb needs to be smoked?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Coran closed his eyes and huffed, twiddling with the ends of his prodigious moustache. “I never said what kind of healing method the plant used.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but I figured it was some kind of poultice or something. Maybe a soup?” Hunk chimed in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, do you want to be healed or not, Yorak?” said Coran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith growled. “Give me the fucking cigarette.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And so, Beastmaster Yor- Keith smoked the magical healing cigarette. Immediately, color returned to his cheeks. He once again felt warm to the touch. The others likewise received treatment for their injuries, and all were invited to spend a few nights and gather their strength before embarking on the trip back down the mountain. They drank and ate and made merry, and their sleep was the sweetest it had ever been.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well! What do you all think? Another round?” said Coran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pidge yawned, listing sideways onto Allura’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No thanks, Coran. I should get back to working on the castle shield matrix,” said Hunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I have to catch some Z’s. This beautiful mug doesn’t just happen, you know?” said Lance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the various team members trickled out, they each gave Shiro a pat or a hug, making plans to eat together or spar with him in the morning. It loosened something in his heart that had been coiling ever tighter over the past few weeks. He couldn’t help but smile at all of them as they left. All but Keith, of course. He stayed sitting by Shiro’s side, carefully watching Shiro’s face with something like approval playing on the edge of his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look much more relaxed,” he noted when they were once again alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro smiled at his former student, now a true partner in every way. “I guess the constant fighting for our lives was getting to me. I sat down to play to take a mental break, and I got it.” Shiro found himself chuckling self-consciously, shy in a way he usually never was around his best friend. “Just wasn’t in the way I expected.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith hummed in simple acceptance, content to let the silence settle softly around them. “Wanna take one of the lions out for a little joyride before bed? You can drive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro looked up at Keith, fond and appreciative. “How about we copilot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>THE END.</span>
</p>
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